


Together

by MayLorelle



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, With!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-01-26 18:49:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21378853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayLorelle/pseuds/MayLorelle
Summary: Kaitou KID, now merely a college student owning the name Kaito Kuroba, had gotten the pleasure of a visit in the middle of the night by his dear sleep-deprived Meitantei who's gotten his original body back.Shinichi stood there, in front of his doorstep, and began...speaking strangely...? About the most ridiculous, which, who would have thought, didn't sound as ridiculous coming from him out of all people.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan & Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan & Mouri Ran, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid & Mouri Ran
Comments: 14
Kudos: 74





	1. Nightly Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first written & published fanfiction...
> 
> Word Count: 1.3k
> 
> (not free from stupid and bad writing)

It was in the middle of the night while it rained outside. Not that he was asleep when the doorbell rang, but he was pretty irritated at having to stand up and open the door when it was around midnight. The only reason he made the effort to open the door for such a rude person was because he thought he needed to take a short breather from his thoughts.

He, Kaito Kuroba, had been sitting in his room and thinking about how his next new magic tricks to perform for his usual audience should be like whilst he put his hands to good use, so as to not just blandly sit around, staring into empty space, and also to practise more around the clock. He has become a magician just as his father, so the usual audience refers to one of a more normal nature that doesn't involve criminal activities. That time had already come to pass for him. He also wanted to let Pandora remain a mystery shrouded in secrecy, as many others do.

That stone is a myth that isn't meant to be sought out and hunted down. If there were no more bastards, no more than three to four people, including him, who are all trustworthy, that know of the stone that's said to be able to grant immortality, then there should be no need for him to find a way to destroy it, he hoped.

While he made his way to the front door, he let out a yawn. Somehow he had this weird foreboding feeling welling up inside him, but he ignored it since it didn't seem like it wanted to warn him about any kind of physical danger.

Upon opening his front door he saw a wild, drenched to the bones detective standing there with no raincoat nor umbrella despite the heavy shower outside. He didn't know when the drizzle got this bad, but he knew he shouldn't dwell on it too much and just let the poor man inside for now. He couldn't help the frown from showing though. Shinichi Kudo didn't just live next door. And he was that much talked about guy he was well acquainted with in a neutral way, who finally returned after a disappearance spanning three years and hadn't made much contact with him after this and that happened. To suddenly appear before his doorsteps in the dead of the night...

Thing is, Kaito knew exactly what that man was doing in those three years. The media only told of the famous detective of the east being involved in a big case together with the FBI and CIA, but didn't-, couldn't go deeper into the details, not knowing much themselves. Everything being confidential and all.

The only reason he, as a good citizen of the country, knows more than them, like about this certain black organization and its branches, is because he too was a victim and enemy of those. Chased them. Or more like got chased by them.

"Kuroba-kun..."

Kaito let out a surprised "What...?" because he did not expect that. What has him this surprised? His dear Meitantei would NEVER call him that. His freaking Meitantei would make fun of his real name 'Kaito' or just straight up use KID if there were no people around.

Yeah, from the time he was little horrible Tantei-kun, he knew of KIDs real identity. He knew it for a long time. Just never made it clear or said anything about being aware just as he's done, so Kaito is unsure from exactly which point on he knew about it.

Their relationship didn't change much upon each other's revelation about knowing each others real identities though. They just laughed it off, half the fault might lie in them having been in a situation where they didn't know if they would come out alive. Unscathed wasn't even an option.

The fact that...a person very dear to his Meitantei died during the incident proved it all the more. The fact that Meitantei lost a hand trying to save that person proves just how much he...held her dear to his heart...

Ran Mouri. A cheerful girl. Not an ignorant person, just a very optimistic one. Always smiling. Knowing self defense, knowing how to protect herself and the people around her, knowing unconsciously or consciously that danger will always follow her and her surroundings and that she needs either strength or incredible brains to not be a burden. She didn't want to be left behind...not by him out of all people the most. Even if her efforts were unneeded as he could never abandon her.

"I...I am..."

And Shinichi...

After Ran's death, Kaito didn't get the chance to meet him. At least not 'officially'. He sometimes saw him around, at a murder scene or on...TV, which shouldn't count as meeting, really.

But all the times he saw that man, bags and coffee. Really, that's all he can say. Shinichi always looked horrible. 24/7 neglected, everyone worrying about him. The second thing known to the masses after the great detective's return was, that somehow his dear held girlfriend died, involved in that big incident in a prefecture not so far off.

So it's somehow understandable what he's going through and why he does what he does, but still...

"Don't worry, I'll explain."

Changing his voice from meek to solemn. What is this? First panicked, then all serious. What is he playing at? He's got those incredible eye bags under his eyes, so maybe it's the combination of too much lack of sleep and overworking...?

"What's wrong Meitantei?"

Shinichi’s face flushed. "M-, Meitantei? What? Calling each other by such nicknames?..."

Kaito's face stiffened up, as did his body, as if believing, maybe he is the one who stayed up a bit too late and is starting to hallucinate. That or he's fallen asleep without noticing and is currently dreaming all of this.

"Don't give me that stupid look. Where's that poker face of yours or whatever you call it? But no, seriously now, you are the only one I can currently consult with without being taken advantage of. Agasa being on a trip overseas with Miyano and all, leaving me behind."

"...Taken advantage of...?"

Kaito didn't even try to think about anything at this point and just listened. He really couldn't keep up with the conversation. Shinichi was acting weird.

"You haven't met my parents yet, so you wouldn't understand. If I went to them who knows what'll happen to me.", then it happened again, "Geez, that sounded so wrong!", the normal to meek, almost girly, voice change.

"I'm sorry, alright."

And what's with his Meitantei apologizing somewhat sincerely to himself? Scary.

"So...anyways, can I go inside first?"

"...Yeah...sure...Go ahead. Don't just stand before the entrance under the cold rain."

"It's your fault for not inviting me in the moment you opened the door.", came out of Shinichi’s mouth with a following, "Though I guess that might be because I surprised Kuroba-kun a bit much with this sudden visit and all...".

Kaito thought he regained a bit more calm, being able to speak. Maybe he did. But he still didn't get the situation playing out before his eyes.

But he pushed all weird thoughts aside again and let Shinichi step inside.

First and foremost, the combination of those eye bags, the cold body temperature of his et cetera wasn't any good. Extremely so. He needed to treat his dear detective to a hot cup of coffee and try to get him to take a warm bath if possible.

He still didn't understand anything, but he was once called a gentleman <strike>thief</strike>. So, he's got to get his act together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> W̶h̶y̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶j̶o̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶[̶N̶i̶g̶h̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶V̶i̶s̶i̶t̶]̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶I̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶i̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶p̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶u̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶w̶r̶o̶n̶g̶?̶
> 
> J̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶g̶n̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶.̶
> 
> I have decided.


	2. Midnight Avowal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The result of waiting in the cold, typing away with frozen hands (there were some previous attempts that were worse than this):
> 
> Word Count: 1.2k
> 
> (not free from stupid and bad writing)

In the living room right beside the kitchen of Kaito Kuroba's own house sat a covered in blankets Shinichi with a warm cup of coffee before him on the table. The opposite of him stood the owner of the house, giving him a demanding look for a further, more elaborated explanation.

"So you're telling me...", Kaito pointed at himself with his hands crossed, putting an emphasis on the last word "...that you're currently being possessed by Ran.", then he went on to point at Shinichi.

"Yep. That's basically it.", was what he got as an answer.

"Now please give a more lengthy explanation and...maybe start from the beginning?"

"I was planning to.", Shinichi started, "You first had to understand why I would talk about not having slept for seven days straight though."

"Wait, you what?", Kaito asked, withholding taking in a deep breath, a flabbergasted expression on his face. Now that was on a whole other level than he thought. Guess those eye bags just stopped growing worse after four all-nighters or the like.

"It was a day like any other. I went through the files of a cold case with a steaming cup of coffee within my reach."

"Don't you just ignore--"

"I took a glance at my phone to check the time and noticed that seven days can pass by surprisingly fast."

"Fast my ass.", Kaito remarked. For the time being he'll just listen to Shinichi story since that man won't let him do otherwise anyway. After that he's so going to inquire about Shinichi’s health and sleeping issues.

"Seeing that it was about to be noon soon, I stood up from my desk with the solved cold case files in hand and made myself ready to head out towards the police headquarters to hand those over to them."

"Uh-huh..."

While Shinichi talked on, Kaito made his way over to the kitchen counter to make himself comfortable on a chair. He sat on it the opposite way one normally does, crossing his arms and resting his head upon those, facing the talking man.

"I finished my business over there, then got dragged to a crime scene by a guilty looking inspector."

"I don't know which of you is the horrible one here."

"After finishing that too, I went back home with another case file in hand I planned to go through like, right now. But..."

"Something happened. Now please get to the point."

Shinichi scrunched his brows, then sighed. "It was around dawn, when I was about to get a refill on my coffee. I thought I was starting to hallucinate again. The handle of my cup broke off while I was holding it, making my way towards the kitchen, and I started hearing voices. This time it was just Ran's.", he reached out for the cup of coffee on the table in front of him to moisten his throat and rouse himself up a bit.

"I moved almost frantic, trying to wipe the little stains off the carpet and picking up the broken pieces of my favourite mug. It wasn't really...conscious. I couldn't control my body and it somehow did those actions by itself without my order to. But I wasn't against cleaning up the mess I made, so I just let it be, too tired to care about the weird feeling I got."

He took a gulp of the bitter drink, then continued.

"...I felt like I was slowly drifting away, perhaps like falling into a deep sleep. I was about to blackout when I cut myself on the sharp edge of a broken piece of ceramic. After that I could feel myself being in control over my body again, but I also felt horrible as if I was woken up in the morning, having gotten only an hour of sleep or less because something suddenly came up out of nowhere."

"Question.", Kaito raised his arm.

"Why did you not wait for morning to come and just had to come visit me at near midnight? What if I was sleeping? I'm not a morning person just so you know, and I hate interrupted nap times.", he pouted out the last part.

"Your lights were on. Visiting and talking about this with you wasn't really planned, you know. You were awake, I was awake, and Ran wanted to meet you."

Then came a following "I'm sorry..." out of Shinichi’s mouth after some fidgeting.

"We went for a stroll, and I planned to force Shinichi’s body to sleep after getting a bit of fresh air, but then we spotted your house with the lights on and he started talking about how you were that Kaito Kuroba he always talked about having an unique relationship of rivalry with, so I couldn't help myself..."

This meek side of Shinichi wasn't so bad. But Kaito got the shivers out of some reason, like, if he ever told anyone about what he saw today, he's dead for sure.

"Really sorry if we were a bother Kuroba-kun!", Shinichi dropped his head. Or Ran did in his body.

"No, no, it's alright. Like Shinichi said, I was awake, so it's alright. If this was done with me surely being awake in mind, it's fine.", Kaito said, waving his hands around mid-air, not knowing himself just what nonsense he was spouting. Seeing Shinichi like that was...incredibly strange.

A little while ago, just looking at Shinichi made Kaito tired and yearn for sleep. But talking with Ran got him awake to a certain extent.

The both of them, Kaito and Ran, proceeded to exchange names formally and talked about how they should address each other without any suffix.

And they bonded over their Shinichi problems, how, whenever he's around, they get dragged into the most absurd.

Now, Ran never met Kaito Kuroba. She did meet with Kaitou KID several times before, but even then not as 'himself' and often only when he was disguised as, for example, Shinichi. Those times were nerve wrecking for him.

While talking about the mystery magnet caused incidents, Kaito left out the details that would all too obviously give away his former other identity as a certain white magician, but there was still a lot to tell, like "There was this one time we had to regrettably work together to catch an imposter. Why? Because I was conveniently present at the scene. I mean, we met on the roof of a hotel. I asked him what he was doing up there, ignore asking why I was up there please, and you won't ever guess what he replied with."

And Kaito took full advantage of Shinichi not wanting to talk about having worked together with this certain former phantom thief not just once or twice before.

"Come on, tell me what he told you!", Ran pouted out in Shinichi’s body.

Kaito didn't know how long this situation was going to last, so he made the best of it, even sacrificing one night of sleep, which was totally worth it and not the first time he pulled an all-nighter.

...had only the situation not lasted longer than he expected, which he won't find out until much later.

Seeing all those expressive gestures on Shinichi. If one night was all that was needed to keep the situation going for even a little bit longer, he doesn't regret it.

Because when Shinichi was together with Ran, he enjoyed himself in a way reserved for only childhood sweethearts to elicit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any indication that you actually like this <strike>pile of trash</strike> work in some way is much appreciated ^^


	3. Case of the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how long this work will end up to be, but I wanna keep it as short as possible just for the sake of it.
> 
> Word Count: 4.2k
> 
> (Yay! I managed to write a somewhat long chapter with much useless blabbering I have no idea how I managed to write!!)
> 
> (not free from stupid and bad writing)

It had been a week since Ran started 'possessing' Shinichi. The most obvious change that came about within this span of time being the improved physical condition of that coffee addict, which he himself denies being, saying it's normal to 'rely' on the bitter concoction in hard times.

Shinichi has not told any other person than Kaito about his circumstances in those seven days of forced peaceful rest by the pair of Kaito and Ran, who both also forced him to attend his college lectures properly, them and actually he himself as well not wanting to have a repetition of his high school days.

"Now put that...over there. Yeah. Perfect."

And Shinichi, he was also currently back in Beika, visiting the inventor and scientist combo who got back from their three week long vacation.

He was also currently being used as a porter by Shiho.

"Finished?"

"Nope. You'll manage those over there too. You still got the energy to remark, so move around after staying cooped up at home for the most part lately."

"But--"

"Shinichi.", Shiho began with a serious undertone, "I do not believe Agasa can carry all of this inside alone. And I certainly won't do any carrying, no way."

"You got--"

"My hands are for research and looking only.", she raised her hands up to her chest, showing off her just recently got manicure while turning her head to the side to see if she was missing anything, ignoring the experated young man.

And Shinichi gave up trying to talk his way out. He couldn't win against that woman, just like he wouldn't be able to with any of his other female acquaintances, a good example: his mother.

Maybe he had recently gotten too used to lounging around at Kaito's, getting taken care of. And maybe he really should start moving around more.

He heard a voice inside his head remarking: "I certainly haven't seen you do any exercise like football since I awoke...as a spirit?"

A defeated "Yeah..." came out of Shinichi's mouth, which was a reply for the both of them.

He had forbidden Ran from taking over his body in public. She was quite obedient in that regard, when he always feels weird in times he isn't in control of his own body and is unable to move his limbs to his will, not even owning any sense of touch in those moments. She must've gotten used to that feeling while no one could see her and she went around, visiting each of her acquaintances. She had told both Shinichi and Kaito of that experience, Kaito having cried fake tears with a handkerchief in hand while listening. Well, he had tried to keep the mood as up and about as possible by exaggerating, but still felt with her. It wasn't to make fun of her or anything the like and they all knew it.

It was quite convenient that Shinichi could hear Ran without her words coming out his mouth. For him it wasn't possible, no matter how much he tried. She could not hear him when he only thought and when he speaks, the words leave his mouth no matter what.

When they both try to speak, Shinichi's words most of the time take priority. But he thinks it's more of a matter of will, Ran thinking that it is wrong taking control over a body that is not hers and him being used to using his own body. When she really wants to, she's able to get her words out over his. Though until now it has only ever happened in Kaito's presence or when they were alone if ever.

Well, he should first and foremost concentrate on getting all those...clothes and whatnot inside Agasa's house. Shiho is starting to give him the stares.

* * *

"What? You should've told me earlier.", Shiho remarked somewhat begrudgingly with a frown, legs crossed. No wonder he looked so alive when he was so dead just before they headed off towards the airport. She wondered what happened. Not imagining, well, this.

"I couldn't."

"You should've.", she repeated herself. Lightly stirring the drink in her hands with a straw in between her fingers and taking a sip before finally turning her eyes over to Shinichi and saying "Mouri, please explain in a better manner than Kudo did about how it feels being in a body with such a messed up sleeping history."

"To be honest, I imagined worse when I first saw him in that condition. Of course he didn't look as bad as he did one week prior, but he still looked straight up horrible at that time.", Ran immediately answered and Shiho nodded, as if unsurprised that what Shinichi spouted was actually possibly true.

"And just to be clear, I didn't possess him on purpose. It just...happened after I tried to reach out my hand to touch him, which I did several times before and not just towards Shinichi and obviously had never before worked. But this time, when my finger slightly brushed against Shinichi's hand, the empty cup of coffee in his hand fell to the floor and I panicked. I duck down and tried gathering the pieces up before they left more stains on the expensive carpet, while laughing at myself inside for even trying to touch the corporeal. But I could actually touch and pick up the broken fragments, and since it didn't seem like Shinichi duck down to clean up the mess, probably too tired to even bother, thinking about how he was just going to get another mug from the shelves, I did it in his stead. Thinking, he's going to think he's hallucinating anyways with that little amount of sleep he gets and won't question flying ceramic."

Ran shifted her sitting position and leaned back, feeling slightly exhausted from the trip to Beika via car, the carrying and the talking. She wasn't the one who did the most, but she shared a body with the person who did all the driving et cetera basically alone.

Listening to the background noises coming from the kitchen around the corner relaxed her a bit. They were somewhat calming. Something familiar she remembers from when she was still alive. She was always the one standing in the kitchen instead of her father. When she cooked with friends, she always did the most. Mostly because all of them are horrible at cooking and can't even cut vegetables properly.

The sizzling of food, the sound of the rice cooker and boiling water, the rustling of fabric...

"But to get back to answering your actual question--", she managed to barely get out, reminiscencing behind those closed eyelids about the times she was still alive, inside her own body. However, she got interrupted by a sound coming from beside her, which made her flinch in surprise.

*riiiing*

The phone in Shinichi's pocket rung. And Shinichi took over to receive the call, noticing that it was inspector Megure who called him before pressing on the accept call button.

"Shinichi Kudo here. What's the matter?"

...And that had been the calling of another case to solve.

* * *

A crowd was gathered before a certain bar in Beika. The inside quiet and the outside bustling. Police cars and an ambulance parked before the entrance, curious people or people who planned to go for a drink tonight refusing to leave without knowing just what has occurred inside for the police to be on-scene. A theft? At a bar? A law breaker? A drunk man who caused a scene when it wasn't even night yet? A....murder?

Inside weren't many people since the incident occured when late afternoon was just about to come to an end.

And whatever it was that happened inside, the crowd was only growing with the police refusing to say anything about the incident until anything is confirmed.

Yet, a man wearing suspicious sunglasses during nighttime, I repeat, nighttime and SUNglasses, was led inside by the inspector personally and welcomed with a bright smile as if they were meeting an old friend for the first time in years.

The other party simply waved his hand to decline any hugs of the corpulent man who had his arms spread out, ready to wrap around the young figure before him, but left empty up to the very point the other entered the store with a hand keeping the inspector away. It was hilarious to watch one had to admit.

But...a...celebrity on scene? Seriously, what happened inside?

After entering, the sunglasses were taken off in a smooth manner. The inspector helped the young man at taking off his mantle and scarf, then handed them over to a police officer who was just passing by and had no idea as to what to do with those, when his breath hitched upon witnessing THE Shinichi Kudo standing before him in flesh and blood.

A famous person. For a variety of things. But mostly known as a renown homicide detective since his high school days who once worked together on a [case] together with the FBI and CIA. Details confidential.

And the police officer was glad to see that the young man's condition of sleep deprivation seemed...gone? As if the media had been joking. Wait, maybe they were...? But that would mean--

"KyAAa!!"

A scream came from the left side, where a woman sat in the arms of her boyfriend and who had been scared just seconds ago but now had eyes brimming with something other than fear and disgust.

Now they were filled with sparkles and something...else.

"K-, K-, K-", she kept stuttering with a finger pointed at the one who had just entered together with the inspector.

She had put her other hand before her mouth upon her cheeks in hopes of getting her temperature down. She wasn't blushing was she? How embarrassing...She probably looked like a mess, no? Turning back time wasn't an option, right?

"...Kudo...Shinichi Kudo...", she managed to utter out in the end with a flushed and steaming hot face.

She thought today was her worst day ever. But now, now she just thought about how her consecutive misfortunes were worth it all if for the sake of meeting one of her top idols.

Man was she stoked. She completely forgot about the corpse lying on the floor in the distance but still basically in front of her and the boyfriend who had his arms wrapped around her. Well, the boyfriend knew what she felt was only admiration, so he was mostly just embarrassed at the fact that she sat in his embrace while showing that reaction. Else he would have somehow pretended he didn't really know her in such a situation. That is what shows a good relationship, alright.

They were celebrating their anniversary and both of them having come of age, now being able to drink and all. And a murder just had to occur this very day in their presence, didn't it? They both had been so excited, they went to the meeting place way earlier than they should and so their schedule was pushed forward. Now they were here. Only twenty minutes later and they would have just stood outside or changed course, deciding to visit another store that offers alcohol.

Seeing his girlfriend this excited wasn't so bad though, he thought, so in the end, both of them regretted nothing and this ended up being a very memorable day for the both of them. Mostly for the girlfriend. A balanced day of good and bad.

While she squirmed around with incoherent sounds coming from her, Shinichi thought about how similar her reaction was to Sonoko's upon KID in the olden days. Those were times. Quite...erm...peaceful doesn't really cut it with the black organization deal and all, but everyone was alive and kicking back then!

Just look at that mess in that corner over there with flushed face, eye bags, and a foul odor coming from him. That person being none other than...

"...dad...", Ran accidentally spoke out for the first time in 'public', the inspector standing right beside Shinichi not quite catching the word, it only having been a soft whisper and him being shocked from the get go that such a voice could escape this young man's lips, or more like he thought he heard things, not used to Shinichi speaking so softly, nor with such an emotional tone.

"I'm sorry?", he asked as confirmation in case that truly was just some hallucination. It would be a mystery as to why he would be mournful here. As far as he knew, the only acquaintance of his present here was himself and Mouri...san...

...Maybe that was it. Shinichi looked fine, but wasn't really fine inside. He should wrap this case up as fast as possible so the young man can get back to his comfort zone, to the professor and his niece, what he came back here to Beika for.

"...Nothing." Shinichi replied after a pause of awkward silence, short, but only to the onlookers.

The look the former Sleeping Sleuth was giving Shinichi went unnoticed as the renown detective and inspector pair discussed about the case in all seriousness, nearing the truth with each passing second.

* * *

It was mid-evening by the time it all ended. It turned out, the man died naturally and wasn't killed. He had gotten into an argument before suffering from a heart attack of 'unknown cause'. The argument having been with Kogoro Mouri, a drunk and pent up man with no current occupation, once a legend, now back to a failure of society, only worse.

The victim was at the bar to celebrate with his friends and wife. His friends being co-workers, them being researchers. They were about to get dead drunk after not having done so in a long while. They had made a breakthrough and that had to be celebrated by drinking they decided.

His wife was the only odd one out of the four. She wasn't some researcher like the others, instead, she was a doctor. Still prominent and she could keep up with their conversation with eyes closed.

It was kind of...a double date. Just that each pair was already married. They had known each other since middle school. Still stayed best friends or lovers until they were a bit over just simply middle aged.

The victim apparently tried to fool his wife, so dragged her superior into keeping his condition a secret so he would not worry her until the last moments of his.

According to said superior, the man said he would not be able to bear seeing his wife sad because of him. Even if this might end up hurting her even more.

What the victim didn't expect was that his death would be pushed forward by some hours.

He had planned for this celebration to be his last supper, ended up only being able to drink a gulp of beer before falling to his early, unexpected death.

Kogoro Mouri had made a fuss about how one of his colleagues or his wife or anyone who had been in the bar had to be the culprit of murder, but in the end it was nature's fault. Or, well, the victim's own. In his last given moments he did not want to sit around in the hospital and instead wanted to enjoy them with friends and family until the very last second. If he had stayed in a hospital he would have lived much longer, but what meaning would there be in life if it wasn't enjoyable and you leave many regrets unfulfilled even though you still have the possibility to bend things right if you truly desired so.

His strange behavior lately had bugged his acquaintances, and after today all knew why he acted so unlike him. Eating to his hearts content, hugging people he knows on sight, and many more strange actions were because they represented his goodbye. They had their suspicions, but his wife didn't seem worried at all, so they pushed them aside, not believing that doting husband to not tell his wife out of all people when something had to be told. Or her not noticing if something was wrong with her discerning eyes.

And as it turns out, the wife knew about her husbands condition all along even without him telling her. How could she not? He had trouble sleeping lately and often times his body just suddenly went numb, letting glass, ceramic or silverware fall to the floor, although rarely and barely, it happened.

But he always showed a genuine smile no matter which situation he was in. So she couldn't give him a sorrowful one filled with pity or the like in return. She could not do that to him. She knew him well, so she knew that would only break his heart, hurt him more than relieve him that she actually knows.

But the husband probably knew as well that his wife knew. He still didn't want any official statements given to her. It was his last wish. And the superior knew the couple well enough to know that the man's wish was an empty one. If not, it would be soon enough.

This was a case that wasn't so hard to solve. The victims cause of death, a heart attack, didn't appear to have been by any obvious poisoning. He also didn't take any specific medication that could end up having side effects by overdose and so Shinichi went up to the wife, who sat still in her place, not giving any sound from her, to ask something of her.

It took some time for her to get back to reality when it happened. And when she rerurned, she started crying nonstop, not being able to form any words. She had expected it, his death, but not this sudden. More...peaceful she would have wished. In his bed or the like, not outside, not like this. And she thought she would be able to deal with it, but she couldn't. All her pent up emotions spilled now that she didn't need to smile in return anymore. She didn't know she felt so suffocated until this very moment.

She couldn't speak, so Shinichi turned around over to his colleagues. They had slowly stopped gaping, crying, being shocked over their friends death. They were in a way better condition than the wife was in.

He asked questions, and when the wife calmed down, she grasped at Shinichi's clothes and finally explained what she couldn't for the last hour.

It ended quickly that way.

And that was basically it.

There wasn't really any need for Shinichi to come, but well, when inspector Megure got a call about a suspected murder, he immediately thought of the young homicide detective he heard will be back in Beika by today and immediately called him up get him to come to the scene if he had the time to. He wanted to meet the young modern holmes as soon and naturally as possible. And a crime scene it was. Well, this time it turned out there wasn't really any real crime committed, but there was a corpse. Close enough.

Inspector Megure apologized for calling Shinichi for something this trivial that could have easily been solved by questioning, and Shinichi only answered with an "It's fine, don't worry.", scratching his cheek and giving a smile.

While they talked some more, Shinichi noticed someone familiar approaching in the distance. She was waving her hand and calling after someone. Not him but...

"Dear!"

...well, that wreck on the floor leaning against the wall, who keeps on hiccuping and looking frustrated.

How did he even get this drunk so early on in the day?

She approached the mess sitting on the floor and immediately tried to pull him up while saying something Shinichi couldn't quite hear from where he stood. She seemed to reprimand him after giving up at bringing him to his feet.

While Shinichi watched all that, thinking about how some things never change and stifling a small laugh from escaping, he met eyes with the man on the floor. He could swear he caught a glimpse of hostility in them. But he just gave a small smile in return. It was his fault that Ran had died. That was a fact for him.

And if there was a person who needed someone to blame, someone to push the blame onto for her death to continue living, he would gladly take that role upon himself. Not that there were many. And he himself had been one who needed such a person the most. But he could only blame his own incompetence and the culprit who started it, and that was not enough for him back then. However, shortly before he was about to break apart altogether, someone had come to stop him from falling ever deeper, and it was the very cause out of all possibilities.

This man in front of his eyes, he had someone who worried about him. For Shinichi it took longer for the savior to appear, and when she did, a second jumped on board for the fun of it. At the very least it appeared as such.

Eri Kisaki, Ran's mother. At first she thought that her former husband was the same as her and just needed time to somehow get over their daughters death in a way, but his condition never stopped deteriorating and getting worse and so came about her involvement to put an halt to his totally unhealthy life.

Kogoro did not go about it the same way as Shinichi did, drowning himself in work and coffee. Instead, he deluged himself in the pleasures of life: gambling, alcohol, tabasco, excluding the woman kind of pleasure, he wouldn't drop that far even with all the tough luck he had after the midget-lucky-charm left and only years later everything was explained to him, deeming it alright to tell him only after his daughter had died and everything was over.

He was frustrated. He didn't exactly know why, he couldn't exactly explain it if asked, but he was frustrated for a time. That coupled with many more troubles just...didn't mix very well. He had no one to rely on anymore, his daughter having been the only one accepting him wholly from his point of view.

He didn't know who he could turn to in this situation. He couldn't talk to the brat, the one who planned to take his daughter from him, after what he had said to the young man. The words just came out before his head could register them, before he could think about if it was reasonable to say such words towards someone just as broken as him at that moment.

However, after today, he really doesn't know how to feel anymore. Hearing the news, he somehow thought he had been too harsh and maybe should just go and apologize, knowing why the boy didn't retort even after being hit in the face by him. But after seeing him in person after...well, months....

....it didn't sit well with him. He looked too...light-hearted, as if nothing had ever happened. As if the media had been lying for the attention. Oh, that would make sense alright. So it was like that.

Did he truly love his daughter?

Well, he as her father certainly did. More so than he appeared. Quarrels show just how close people are to one another, and of course there are different kinds. Theirs was one where he could be himself the most with her around. It has been the same with the midget that had lived with them for some time. But now...

...he really didn't know anymore. His head hurt. He drank too much today, the day before and the day before that and so on. His throat was also just...it felt scorched after the yelling inside the bar, trying to take out his anger from seeing Shinichi Kudo in that kind of a condition.

It was unacceptable, inconceivable how he had seen his daughter in that person even if only for a split second. Sure, in appearance they looked quite similar one had to admit, they somehow did, but he would never ever, had never ever, seen his daughter in another person or had been mistaken at which the real one was. No one looked the same nor felt even a bit similar to her in any way in his eyes.

So...

Why did it happen again?

That light smile...

...he must be really drunk and exhausted and should lie down and properly go to sleep for once.

While caught in his thoughts, he didn't notice his former wife talking to him. He got too used to hearing her harsh, relentless voice, now it just sounded like a lullaby to him all the same, her words going in from one ear out the other.

Closing his eyes, he fell asleep in front of the store, right beside a road. He really must have not gotten any proper rest just the same as Shinichi always did until one week prior.

Truth be told, in terms of appearance Shinichi looked worse in comparison to his usual self those days. In terms of the condition of the body it was Kogoro's win (?).

But what else would you expect with how they destroyed themselves?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made such an effort thinking up on a case, because in my first try at writing the chapter I needed it in detail, and then at my fourth or so it ended up being...certainly not needed the way I thought it would.
> 
> It was quite the trouble thinking up on a case that doesn't sound stupid while having to learn for 5 different subjects for this week alone because I'm writing a test about each this exact week. Only two are like, exams tho.
> 
> And the case ended up sounding stupid anyway (´°̥̥ω°̥̥｀) Idk why I still implemented it XD
> 
> (I had planned for Kogoro to be like, the main suspect of a murder, but actually someone else did it, but that was too complicated to think of for my overworked, idk-what's-even-inside-all-the-time brain.)


	4. Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The implications that KID doesn't exist anymore were removed from the first chapter. And I don't think they appear elsewhere. I could very well be wrong though.
> 
> Word Count: 2.2k
> 
> (not free from stupid and bad writing)

Shinichi had, well, planned to spend his official week off college productively by reading through some old books in his father's study after spending enough time with the Kudo household's neighbours.

Never would he have thought he would have to spend it...this way. Not that the week was over in any kind of way, only half of it had passed by now. But one day of that kind was enough for him to roughly understand how all the following would turn out to be like.

He doesn't know how to feel about that and could only frown at the fact and glare at the cause.

"What? Still sour about yesterday?"

"No idea what you're talking about Kaito."

He should have expected it, them attending the same college and the guy having mentioned he would only be visiting his mother for a short while.

He doesn't know how they managed to avoid the other starting from the beginning of the semester until about just a week and a half ago, but that probably lies in Shinichi having only entered college last year and Kaito being a senior student by two years AND him having rarely attended the lectures after the final takedown, which, from hearing you would assume should be something more like 'while the takedown was planned he rarely attended to his own life'.

"Geez, it isn't that bad now.", Ran spouted out.

"Exactly as Ran-chan said.", Kaito nodded his head in agreement while eating his breakfast.

Wasn't so bad huh...

"Oh. Maybe because neither of you both have to solve this crap.", he lifted up the phone in his hand, showing off the picture of a KID note he took last night. "I thought your career as a phantom thief was over after the takedown."

"Heh~ Now that wasn't ever confirmed, was it?"

"I assumed so after your parting words. And...France? What the hell Kaito, as far as I know you weren't absent so many times as to be able to pull off several heists overseas. What would even be the point in going out of your way to do that?"

"I don't know. Change of location after being focused on Japan for too long? Sounds plausible enough for me.", he proclaimed, shrugging his shoulders while starting to dig into the food laid out before him.

Shinichi scowled in response. "But not for me."

Yesterday Kaito had appeared before his front door with a KID note in hand, which Shinichi had to pass over to the police department specialising in theft in the middle of the night. Not that he was sleeping and woken up, but others were, and he didn't manage to finish rererereading that one book of his because he had to deal with this that night.

It came as a surprise to him when others unknowingly confirmed that KID truly was still in action and pulling heists, though of a different kind than before. He also got to realize, no one ever clearly stated KID would quit after everything was over. The magician himself only proclaimed he would put an end to his chasing after [Pandora], not his career as an international phantom thief.

But...it definitely wasn't Kaito that was pulling off those heists in France, so...

"Either another successor of some sorts appeared for whatever reasons or...the previous, original Kaitou KID has somehow returned from the dead."

"Bingo~"

"You did say you doubt the authentication of your father's death. That your father, a world famous magician, would never fall to an amateur trick such as that rumored to have killed him."

"Exactly." Kaito started. "But I still needed to put some effort into proving my hypothesis in some way. Because I feared what could happen if I did nothing. Apparently everything can happen in the world. From witches to rejuvenation."

"That again?"

"Yes. And I'm telling you, I only speak of the truth when saying that!"

"Then let me meet that so-called witch of yours."

"Don't word it that way! And she's living in England! Also, I have no desire to see that pair again after I finally got them off of me through graduation!!"

"Pair? Is it a duo of witch sisters now?"

Kaito froze and let that idea sink in first...

He shuddered "No way.", his feeling of disgust clear in his voice. "Actually, I'm pretty sure you met him before. I'm not sure if you remember him though."

"Oh?"

"His name is Hakuba, Saguru Hakuba and he's a British detective. You know, he was present at that one mansion and Koshien case. I once disguised as him as well if I remember right."

"How do you..."

Much to Shinichi's confusion as to how the guy knows of what happened at those cases that even he himself finds difficult to keep track of, they continued their chatter at the kitchen table in peace, awaiting the coming event nearing with each breath taken.

* * *

Shinichi, dressed in a formal black suit and tie, made his way into the venue in which a celebration of sorts appeared to be taking place. Chandeliers were decorating the ceiling and candle lights spread out in every direction. The people bustling about made the wide hall seem all the grander.

It was the place in which the heist was supposed to take place. The place where at the very least what was announced to be stolen was at. Directly on the person of the star of the event, Sonoko Suzuki, heiress of the Suzuki corporation, announced as the official future head of said corporation.

She, the focus of the event, even stood at the very center of the venue. Right beside her, the famed fiancé she had just recently been officially wed with. This event being a kind of after-party.

And Shinichi, he made a straight line over to a place with no people unlike the others who mostly gathered around the attraction of the event, the jewel of course.

Either that or they wanted to suck up to said future head of the Suzuki corporation early, perhaps believing it will be easier than when she's older and in the position of head already. Although today wasn't that suitable a day for it, as Sonoko was probably not hearing any of their empty praises for herself or similar comments unrelated to KID, really, she probably doesn't even register those around her as proper people at the moment, filtering out anything useless unrelated to her beloved KID-sama who stole a part of her heart years ago and doesn't seem to ever be returning it. In short, she was simply a die-hard fangirl who was in the middle of a fangirling session.

On the outside she appeared quite calm and collected, praising the gentleman phantom thief despite his felonies and other acts of deceptions or mischief. On the inside, which was Shinichi's perception of things, she was drooling over KID and the man beside her was all ready for a coming confrontation, secretly cracking his knuckles behind his back.

Shinichi felt momentarily sorry for Kaito. But only a really small amount that dissipated just as fast as his trust in humanity. The magician always managed to escape him, he's probably going to be able to deal with one angry karate champion. Or two possible karate champions if Ran will want to join the chase. Though his body might not be that ideal for her hand to hand combat, his legs should do alright on their own. Well, he hopes because just recently there was a long period of time in which he neglected anything but his work and coffee.

'Don't you want to greet Sonoko?', Ran spoke inside his mind. And Shinichi returned in quiet whispers only she and himself would be able to catch "You think I would be able to pull her out of her trance that even her husband doesn't manage to do? No way. And I definitely don't want to be seen as a part of that desperate bunch gathering around her."

'Shinichi!'

"Sorry, sorry.", still, no matter how quiet he might have managed to speak with all that 'one-and-more-than-a-half week training', his lips still moved accordingly.

And seeing a handsome man talk to himself was...

"Good evening."

...apparently not going to stop anyone from approaching him.

"Would you like a glass of wine?"

Shinichi took up the offer with a silent gesture, casting a sidelong glance.

"If I'm not wrong, aren't you that famous detective specializing in homicide cases? What might someone like you be doing here?"

"KID.", he replied dryly.

"Huh?"

"The thief insisted I attend himself.", he finally spoke in full sentence.

The fact that he spoke to himself with no one around him in sight was not something that would've hindered anyone from approaching him. Everyone should know he wasn't some suspicious individual and that at most it could be KID in disguise again, which wouldn't be that bad of a turn out either. What hindered them was the heavy air around him alone. And what they heard about him. And his looks.

They either didn't want to disturb him since there was a chance that he could be in the middle of communicating with the police through a hidden device on him or they couldn't approach him simply because he appeared too...on another level.

"Oh did he now?", she raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that like him digging his own grave?"

"My thoughts exactly."

'Well, he did keep on inviting Conan to his heists as well.'

"That's something different.", Shinichi froze for a split second upon the realization that he just automatically spoke aloud the answer to Ran's question. Putting his hand on his ear in imitation, he began speaking in a serious manner...

"Move group four over to entrance F and switch number fifteen with twenty-four...", he gave out a chain of false commands, ending it with--

"Yes. This show might be one of his last ones I believe."

\--a mocking smirk forming on his lips that seemed oh so charming at the same time, meeting eyes with the lady who had a hand covering her mouth.

Wide eyed the woman excused herself in a hurry.

Shinichi took a glance over to the overly big clock hanging on the wall. There wasn't much time left until the minute hand would reach twelve.

And as he went over the venue with his eyes to look for any blindspots he might have overseen with the too little preparation time given to him, his eyes met hers. The seafoam green eyes of the heiress and childhood acquaintance of his, Sonoko Suzuki.

And he felt his lungs tighten with his heart. His heart was painfully throbbing and he couldn't breathe. And soon his senses went numb until he could feel nothing....

* * *

"Ughh...Shin...ichi....", she lied on the floor, wine glass broken and staining the expensive carpet by his side.

She couldn't move his body. It felt so heavy.

The only thing she could recognize within this blurry sight of hers was a familiar silhouette. Although it appeared to have a more mature appearance than she was usually used to seeing, she would never mistake it for another no matter how much time might've passed by in-between.

"Sono....ko...", Ran was sure she accidentally gave a wide, pained smile. Not a pained smile as in she was currently in pain as this really was nothing in comparison to other pain she felt, not restricted to physical pain only, but that aside, it was a smile of sorrows and guilt.

Somehow she felt like if she doesn't manage to put a lid on all her bottled up feelings now, they would begin to spill uncontrollably.

The sorrow and guilt wasn't just because of Sonoko, for her. No. It was for everyone she knew. And each of them had their own indescribable emotions she can't even begin to explain mixed into it.

A finger neared her face. And caught the tears trickling down on the left side of her face, clearing her vision by a bit.

Was it because this was such familiar pain that all this was coming back up...?

She tried to swallow her tears back. She was in Shinichi's body right now. She couldn't...make such an embarrassing scene while being him.

Sonoko was starting to look at her strangely as well.

Somehow Ran...couldn't help but give a giggle upon Sonoko's furrowed eyebrows and look of confusion.

She pulled herself together. With a tighter grip on control than she ever had and conviction that she'll do her best, she acted out as Shinichi had planned for this all too beautiful fullmoon night.

She had heard or caught of everything in his plan as she was with him at all times.

So acting it all out which has already been all prepared beforehand couldn't get that difficult, right?

If push comes to shove, she'll resort to violence at some parts to push through. Like that it's got to work out somehow, right?

She wiped the remains of her tears on his face away with the sleeves of his suit and just prayed she'll not stumble too much and ruin all of Shinichi’s hard work to get a good hit at the back of that 'idiot' phantom thief's head...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any indication that you actually like this <strike>pile of trash</strike> work in some way is much appreciated ^^


End file.
